Collar-holder



F11. LE CLAIR.

COLLAR HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 17, 1921- 1,387,497. Patented Aug 16, 1921.

' digs.

FRANK J. m CLAIR, or a'r'rnnnono, MASSAGHUS m'rs, AssIGNo'R r0 FREEMAN- ,DAUGHADAY COMPANY, OE CI-IARTLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, A ooRroRATIoNor MASSACHUSETTS,

1,387,497, Specification of Application filed May 17,

To all 10 7mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. Le CLAIR, a-

citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Attleboro, in the county of Bristol and State of lvlassachusetts, have inventf ed new and useful Improvements in Collar- Holders,of which the following is a specification. i

This invention concerns collar holders'useful in retaining the edges of softer un-' starched' collars in proper position about the neck of the wearer, and relates more particularly to that type of holder wherein clamping elements are provided for gripping and holding the materialof the collar,

The principal object of the present invention is to improve the holding or gripping power of collar holders of the kind having gripping jaws or gripping. elements" for holding the corners ofthe collar without damage to the fabric of the collar. To this" end, the collar holder is provided with gripping elements havingelongated orextended gripping surfaces to insure agrippingx area of very substantial extent, said gripping elements being so disposedas to lie in substantially parallelrelation uponthe insertion of the fabric of the collar between them, thus insuring a substantially uniform grimping pressure over the wholeofthe gripping sur faces. I

To secure this result theopposed gripping elements are arranged normally out'oflparallelism so that when spread apart by the insertion of the collar they will assume the desired parallel relation.

, A preferred embodiment of means for carrying the inventioninto effect is illustrated in the acompanyingdrawings in whioh,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the holder showing the parts as in normal position before attachment to the collar;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, but illustrating the device as secured to a collar;

Fig. 3 is a frontelevation of the device of Fig. 1; and I V Fig. 1 is a cross section taken on a line such as 4-4 of Fig. 1. j

The holder as herein illustrated comprises a pair of bars 1, 2, secured together at their central portions by means of a clip 3or in any other desired manner.

The bars. 1, 2 are preferably of curved formation and of different radii of curvature, it being understood, however, that one tially parallel, to the "oonLAn-Honnrm.

Letters Patent. Patented Al lg'. 16, 1921- I I 1921. Serial no. 470,355.

of such bars may be straight, that is to say, of infinite radius, if desired. The exactform of the bars is, however, of no particular consequence in so far as the present-invention isconcerned, providing the bars are so arranged that their outer portions diverge one from the other. At. their outer ends, each of. the bars is bent backwardly upon itselfv as mdicated at 4, 5, respectively,

to provide portions 6, 'Fiwhichlie substair, main portions. of the resnective'bars.

The portions 6, 7 are provided with offsets 8, 9, respectively which project toward theopposite'bars, and formed as continua tions of such offsets are the substantially straight and elongated clamping members 10,11, respectively. Such membersmay, if desired, termmate in the outwardly flared elements 12, 13, such. elements serving to avoid the tearingthe fabric in removing the same frombetween the clamping memhere. The members 10 and 11 which constitute theifabric clamping means are fur-. nished Wltll oppositely disposed gripping surfaces 14, 15, respectively, which are of substantial area and which may be rough-- ened if desired,- whereby to secure a better hold on the fabric. H

The offset portionsof the bars provide the open-ended guiding mouths 16 for directing the fabric into the space between the clamping elements 10, 11. One or both of thebars 1, 2 is resilient, such'bars being illustrated herein as formed of substantially the same thicknessof material and being equally resilient, and the parts are so disposed that in normal position the clamping members 10, 11 diverge from each other in a direction toward the center of the device, normally contacting with each other at the. points 17 and being separated at their opposite ends as at 18. When, however, the collar fabric, indicated at C (Fig. 2) is inserted between the clamping jaws 10, 11, the gripping surfaces 141-, 15 thereof assume a position of substantial parallelism one to the other whereby the entire surface of each gripping j aw may come into engagement with the fabric and bear with substantially uniform pressure thereover.

WVith this arrangement it is clear that by reason of the unusually large gripping surface provided and the fact that the cooperative clamping surfaces, when in engagement with the fabric, lie substantially parallelone to the other, a very secure grip is obtained While as herein disclosed, the clamping surfaces are indicated as roughened, such an arrangement is not necessary, as in View of the large gripping area. provided, a secure holding of 'the fabric may be obtained by the use of smooth jaws. It is also c'ontemplated that, although the parallel gripping elements are shown as formed integral with the bars, as by bending the ends oflsuch bars into the proper shape, such gripping ele: ments might be provided, if desired, by the use of members of proper contour secured in any desired manner to the bars, or that such gripping elements might be formedinteg'rally with the bars in other Ways than by folding and bending portions of the latter.

Having thus described the invention in a preferred embodiment of the same, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A collar holder comprising a pair of oppositely disposed bars securedtogether at their central portions, one at least of said bars being-resilient, each of said barshaving each of its end portions folded inwardly upon itself and constructed and arranged to provide an elongated and substantially straight gripping surface for cooperation with the corresponding surface of the other bar, said cooperating surfaces being normally disposed to diverge one from the other.

2. A collar holder comprising a pair of oppositely arranged. resilient bar's secured together at their central portions, each end of each of. s'aid'bars being folded inwardly upon itself for a short distance, and then,

offset toward the opposite bar, each of such offset parts including a substantiallystraight portion providing a gripping surface of substantial ente'nt for cooperation with'the corresponding surface of the "other bar, said surfaces being normally "divergent but constructed and arranged to assume positions of substantial parallellsm upon the insertion of and secured together at their central por tions, one at least o fsaid bars being resilient,

each end of each bar havinga portion folded back upon itself and a "portion in continuation of but offset fron'rsaid folded portion and projecting toward the other bar, said offset portion comprising an elongated sub: stantially straight gripping element, the opposed'gripping'elements of the two bars normally diverging one from the other in a' direction toward the center of the holder.

5. A collar holder comprising a pair of curved barslof'different radii of cuiwature secured together at their central portions, one at least of said bars being resilient, each end of each bar being bent back upon itself to form an elongated, substantially straight gripping element, the opposed gripping elements: of the twobars normally diverging one from theother in a direction toward the centerof the holder and adapted to assume positions ofsu'bstantial parallelism upon the insertion of theedges of a collar therebetween; g

Signed by me at Attleboro, Massachusetts, this 9th day of May, 1921.

FRANK 3. LE CLAIR. i 

